• What are secondary colors?
• the color wheel
• Primary colors
• Tertiary colors
• Complementary colors

We explain what the secondary colors are in each color model and what the color wheel is. Also, primary and tertiary colors.

Secondary colors depend on the color model used.

What are secondary colors?

The colors secondary are all those that are obtained through the mixture or combination of primary colors or pure. Exactly what these colors are will depend on the color model used:

• The traditional model or RYB. The initials of his name come from the English Net, Yellow, Blue, that is, red, yellow and blue, since these are its primary colors. It is a subtractive color model, which subtracts light as colors are combined, until it reaches black. Through the combination of these primary colors, the following secondary colors can be obtained: green (yellow + blue), orange (yellow + red) and purple (red + blue).
• The RGB model. The initials of his name come from the English Net, Green, Blue, that is, red, green and blue, since these are its primary colors. It is an additive color model, which adds light as colors are combined. Through the combination of these primary colors, the following secondary colors can be obtained: yellow (red + green), cyan (green + blue) and magenta (red + blue).
• The CMYK model. The initials of his name come from the English cyan, Magenta, Yellow, that is, cyan, magenta and yellow, since these are its primary colors. Black (represented by the K) is often incorporated into them. It is a model of subtractive color synthesis, which loses light as colors are mixed.Through the combination of its primary colors, the following secondary colors can be obtained: red (magenta + yellow), green (yellow + cyan), blue (cyan + magenta), black (cyan + magenta + yellow).

the color wheel

The color wheel organizes colors according to their tone or hue.

A chromatic circle or color wheel is known as a graphic and ordered representation of colors, arranged in a circle according to their tone or hue, and in which the primary and secondary colors can be identified.

This is a very traditional method of arranging colors, in which more or fewer colors are included depending on the level of detail desired. Thus, there are color circles of 6, 12, 24 or more colors, and there are color circles for each of the established color models (RYB, RGB or CMYK).

The location of the colors within the color wheel, moreover, indicates both the affinity of the colors for their neighbors, and their relationship of complementary opposition with the colors arranged opposite. For this reason, the color wheel is a central tool in the study of color.

Primary colors

From the primary colors come the secondary ones and, from the combination of both, the tertiary ones.

Primary colors, also called pure colors, are those that, according to a chromatic model, do not contain any mixture of colors within them, but are fundamental colors in themselves.

It is important to note that this is an idealized model, since white light (in which all colors are contained) contains an infinity of possible colors, discernible only by the sensitivity of the eye. The human eye, in this sense, only has receptors for certain wavelengths, through its three types of receptors: L, M and S, capable of capturing the colors red, green and blue, and through them compose the rest. of the colors we perceive.

The primary colors are, according to the chromatic model:

• Yellow, blue and red, according to the traditional model or RBY.
• Red, green and blue, depending on the RGB model.
• Cyan, magenta, yellow, depending on the CMYK model.

Tertiary colors

Tertiary colors, also called intermediate colors, are those obtained by mixing a primary or pure color with a secondary color. These are the predominant colors in the nature and that they allow a greater variety of tones, which is why they have always inspired artists and painters.

Depending on the color model, there can be an infinity of tertiary or intermediate colors. However, in the traditional chromatic model (RYB), only six of them are distinguished:

• The Carthusian, obtained through the mixture of green and yellow.
• The vermilion, obtained through the mixture of red and orange.
• Amber, obtained through the mixture of yellow and orange.
• Turquoise, obtained through the mixture of blue and green.
• Violet, obtained through the mixture of blue and magenta.
• The grana, obtained through the mixture of red and purple.

Complementary colors

Complementary colors create the greatest possible contrast when placed next to each other.

Complementary colors (or complementary opposites) are called those that are located in antagonistic or opposite positions on the chromatic circle, and that, when mixed, produce a neutral color (gray, white or black). In addition, when placed next to each other, they generate the greatest possible contrast, since they differ in their respective compositions.

In general, when talking about these types of colors, their most saturated versions are used, that is, the brightest. According to the traditional color model (RYB), the complementary colors are:

• The blue and the orange.
• The red and the green.
• The yellow and the violet.